Health Deputy Minister Trinh Quan Huan (R) speaks with Vietnam’s first H1N1 patient Monday at HCMC’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases

A 23-year-old student who became Vietnam’s first case of influenza A (H1N1) infection last week has recovered fully from the disease, the Ho Chi Minh City Health Department said Wednesday.

“The patient has responded positively to treatment. His health is stable now but we will still keep him in the hospital for further inspection before discharging,” Nghiem said.

Tuan was detected as having the flu on May 31 after he had returned from the US for his summer vacation. He has since been treated at the city’s Tropical Diseases Hospital.

Meanwhile, 41-year-old Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong and her nine-year-old son, Nguyen Hoang Huy, the second and third cases of the influenza A virus detected in the country, were also in stable condition, Nghiem said.

Their test results are expected to come out today.

Phuong and Huy tested positive for the virus on their arrival in HCMC from Arizona on May 26. Tests on family members have been negative for the flu.

The department said it had contacted and quarantined some passengers who were on the same flight as Tuan and were living in HCMC. They were all found healthy after finishing the quarantine period Wednesday.

The department Wednesday began instructing taxi drivers on flu prevention measures because they are at very high risk of contracting the disease.

The drivers will learn to monitor their health, sterilize their cars and door handles and inform authorities when passengers show suspicious signs.

Authorities are also issuing a health questionnaire at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport for those who come from infected zones in a move to strengthen surveillance of the virus that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), has so far afflicted 19,273 people in 66 countries and territories, inflicting 117 fatalities.

The HCMC International Quarantine Center said six passengers arriving at the airport Wednesday were quarantined for having body temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius. They were being treated at the HCMC Tropical Diseases Hospital and Children’s Hospital No. 1, it said.

Reported by Nam Son - Thanh Tung